Guardian Angel
by Yukihikari-chan
Summary: Cloud is your average high school student until Tifa Lockhart moves into town. After saving her from the school jerks, they start falling in love. As the story goes on, Cloud sees something special in Tifa, but what could it be? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Cloud-

I'm in the fight of my life. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I fight to stay alive. My opponent tried to slash at me with his sword, but I easily blocked it. I pushed his sword back and tried to slash at him like he did to me. My opponent jumped back and swung his sword at me again. I sidestepped and nicked him in his shoulder. My opponent winced in pain before he charged at me, sword raised. I held my sword above my head, trying to block it. My opponent was stronger than me and he knocked my sword out of my hands. My opponent swung his sword at me again, I tried to jump back but I stumbled and fell hard onto my back.

My opponent raised his sword and prepared to take my life. I shut my eyes and waited for…

"Uh, Cloud? We're not actually fighting to the death," A voice tells me, snapping me back into reality.

Okay, maybe I wasn't actually fighting to the death. I look up and my best friend, Zack, is holding his hand out to me. None of that was true, well except for the part when I stumbled and fell over my own feet. Zack pulls me to my feet before I take off my mask, letting my blonde hair spike up again.

"Cloud, why do you have to pretend that every fight you're in is a battle to the death?" Yuffie joked as she pulls on her dark green hoodie.

"Because I have to work hard if I'm going to beat our captain. I need to bulid my confidence so I know I'll beat Sephiroth," I smile at that thought, me captain of the fencing team. That would be so awesome. "Plus if I'm in a sword fight when I'm older I won't get killed,"

"The only thing that it'll kill is your ego," Yuffie cracks a smile at that as she walks to the gym doors and leaves Zack and I alone.

After Zack and I change out of our fencing clothes we begin to head back to my house. Rain sweeps over the town, drenching everything. I pull my hood over my head and run through the waterlogged streets. Zack's, normally spiky, black hair is stuck to his head. As we walk past the convenience store, I can't but notice my favorite group of silver-haired jerks-Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo.

They're crowed in the alley next to the store, smoking and huddled around someone. I can't see who it is very well, but all I see is straight black hair.

For a second I thought it was Tseng, but nobody, and I mean nobody, EVER picks and Tseng. If you insult him, you're heading straight for hell. I don't who it is, but I can't let Kadaj and his gang pick on someone like that.

"You go on, Zack. I'll catch up later," I tell him as I splash through the streets.

"Cloud? Where are you…" The rain drowns out his voice from my ears.

I head to the alley, holding my head up high. Now I can see what they're up to: they're all huddled around a girl. She's kinda pretty with her long black hair, now dripping wet, and dark brown eyes. She's wearing a soaked black hoodie and the cuffs of her jeans are drenched. She's backed up against the wall as Loz smirks at her.

"Man…its been years since we've had a d*mn hottie like her around her, wouldn't you agree Yazoo?" Loz smirked towards Yazoo.

"Wh-What do you want with me?" The girl stammered.

Yazoo smiled towards her. "Nothing at all my dear, I would-"

"Leave her alone!" I yelled as I step into the alley.

Kadaj snorts. "Well look it's rain," He muttered.

"Cloud," I corrected.

"Whatever," Kadaj turned towards Loz. "Loz, take care of rain for me,"

Loz pulls out a bat and smirked. I growled under my breath as he tried to swing it at me, but I sidestepped and tried to punch him. Loz grabbed my fist forced my arm to punch my shoulder. I jumped away and tried to kick him but he hit my leg with his bat, making me wince in pain. I jumped and landed a roundhouse kick on his side. Loz muttered a curse under his breath and swung his bat as my legs, making me fall flat on my face.

I climb to my feet and I feel my cheek sting. I must have scrapped it against the pavement. Yazoo stood guard next the girl as she watched me with fearful eyes. I let my guard down as Loz hit me with the handle of his bat, knocking the breath outta me. I fall to the ground trying to catch my breath as Loz swing his bat at me again.

"Stop!" The girl darted forward and tried to grab from Loz.

Loz growled and elbowed the girl in the stomach, making her slammed against the wall, dazed and shocked. While he was distracted, I kicked the bat out of his hands; the bat flew across the street and landed in a patch of mud. Loz grabbed me by the collar of my hoodie and slammed me against a wall.

"You brat! You're gonna pay for that!" He snarled and he drew back his fist and attempted to punch me.

I slid out of my hoodie and Loz punched the brick wall. Loz cursed under his breath and tried to kick me. Surprisingly, Kadaj grabs his leg, stopping his kick. Yazoo stood beside Kadaj a defeated look in his eyes.

"Its not worth it Loz, you've already humiliated rain and yourself in front of the new girl. Let's go," Kadaj lets go of Loz's leg and walks out of the alley and onto the sidewalk boarding main street.

Loz sneered at me. "This isn't the end, rain. You'll pay for this," He narrowed his eyes at me before he followed Yazoo out of the alley.

"Are you okay?" I turn around and the girl is holding my soaked hoodie towards me.

"Yeah, thanks," I reply, throwing my ruined hoodie over my shoulder. Nothing a little time in the dyer couldn't fix.

"Who were those guys anyway?" The girl asked as she pulls out an umbrella.

"Well…" I try to find the right words as we begin to walk down Main Street, her umbrella protecting us from the pouring rain. "They're the class jerks-Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. They pick on EVERYONE, well except for Rufus and his gang, no one messes with them," I explained. "And are you really new here?"

"Yeah, I moved in last week, a small white house on Edge Avenue," The girl replied.

"That's my street! What house number?" I felt my heart beginning to hammer in my ribs.

"465,"

"That's across the street from my house! My house is the pale blue one with the black door," I described.

The girl laughed to herself. "I guess we're neighbors then! My name is Tifa, Tifa Lockhart. What's yours?" She asked, her beautiful brown eyes twinkling.

"Cloud Strife," I replied as she closed her umbrella.

I was so caught up in talking to Tifa; I didn't realize we were at my house. I smiled at Tifa she darted across the street to get out of the pouring rain.

"See ya tomorrow!" I called.

"You too!" Tifa called back.

I knew I had just met an angel sent from heaven itself.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

I groan in annoyance at that terrible sound. I slam my hand on the snooze button, making the obnoxious notice shut off. I forcibly drag myself out of my warm and cozy bed. As I throw on my clothes, a navy blue t-shirt, a black vest, and a pair of jeans ripped at both knees, I notice a purple bruises on my shoulder and another smack in the middle of my chest. Man, they're gonna hurt like hell during practice this afternoon.

After finishing my morning routine, I throw my backpack over my shoulder and I'm out. The sun's rays are peeking over the horizon as I walk towards school. The entire way, I can't stop thinking about Tifa. She was strong, beautiful and nice-my kind of girl. I remember when Zack first started dating Aerith; he wouldn't stop talking about her. Aerith blabbered about Zack to her friends, and that's how I met Leon and Yuffie.

"Hey, Cloud!" A voice called behind me.

I turned around to see Tifa running down the sidewalk. She stops beside me, painting and smiling at me. I smile back at her.

"Do you wanna walk to school together?" She asked.

"Sure," I reply.

I didn't quite know what to say. I'm usually pretty good with words, but around Tifa, I couldn't find the right words for anything. Note to self: ask Zack how to start a conversation with your girlfriend.

"Are you okay from yesterday? Your shoulder looks stiff," Tifa commented.

"Yeah, Loz bruised it pretty bad. It's gonna kill at fencing practice," I muttered.

"This school has a fencing team?" Tifa's eyes grew wide in excitement. "Do they allow girls on the team?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, why?" Allowing girls on a sports team seemed pretty normal to me.

"At me old school, they didn't allow girls on the fencing team. Don't why, but I think they said something about girls being more fragile," Tifa rolled her eyes. "Sexists," She muttered.

"We do allow girls but it's only me, Zack, Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Reno, and Rude. Yuffie's been thinking of joining, but she's already in karate so that might get a bit difficult," I explained.

"Rude? Is that really the guy's name?" Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's his given name,"

"I hope he doesn't live up to his name," Tifa chuckled.

* * *

During school, my mind didn't want to pay attention. Tifa wasn't in any of my classes, meaning my mind was in my little wonderland with just Tifa and I. I was slowly turning into a lovesick puppy over Tifa. I tried to focus, but whenever I succeeded, my thoughts would go back to Tifa. Pretty soon I'll-

"Cloud? Care to share your thoughts on this problem?" A voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

I blink and come face-to-face with a, very angry, Mr. Lazard. Rule #1-never daydream in Mr. Lazard's class; you'll regret you did. He eyes stare through me like lazars. I stare at the strange looking pattern of numbers and symbols on the board. I mutter under my breath the numbers and symbols while Mr. Lazard gives me a hard stare.

"Mr. Strife? You weren't paying attention?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir," I reply.

"Can you pay attention now?"

"Yes sir,"

Mr. Lazard continues his lesson while I sulk through the rest of the morning. I want to introduce hang out with Tifa during lunch so I can introduce her to the gang. About forty-five minutes later, the lunch bell finally rings, putting me out of my misery. I grab my lunch from my locker and head to the cafeteria. Only about one third of the sophomores eat in here, the rest hang out outside. I run through the side doors and run towards the giant oak in the middle of the schoolyard. Time to meet everyone:

The girl with the long brown hair is Zack's girlfriend, Aerith. She has long brown hair tied back with a pink ribbon and green eyes. She's really sweet and thinks about her actions before she does them. Plus she likes gardening, which explains why her clothes sometime are decorated with flower petals when she comes to school.

Leon has shoulder-length brown hair, dark eyes, and a scar the runs down the bridge of his nose. He never told us where he got it, but my theory was there used to big a huge zit there and he popped it. Or maybe he got into an epic battle with his cat. Both sound reasonable, right?

Reno's a bad boy, which why just about every sophomore girl has a crush on him. He has red hair that spikes out in all directions tied back into a low ponytail and green eyes. He's easygoing and has a sense of humor, unlike Rude. Reno is always trying to make Rude laugh because; if you make Rude laugh, you may as well be the funniest person on the planet.

Rude is serious most of the time, unlike Reno. He has shaved head and wears aviators most of the time. He's the kind of guy that's hard to read. Not really much to say about him. Not that I've bored you all with my description of my friends, let's get on with this story…

"Yo, Cloud," Reno greets as he fiddles with his black arm warmers. "What's up?"

"Me," I reply, making Yuffie laugh hysterically and she nearly falls off the tree branch she was sitting on.

"Cloud what happened yesterday?" Zack takes a bite out of his apple. "You just ditched me in the middle of town,"

"Kadaj and his gang were picking on the new girl. I couldn't let them do it, so it stepped in and got a couple war wounds," I explained.

"Join the club," Leon muttered.

I gaze across the schoolyard as I spot Tifa scanning the area like a hawk. I wave to her and her face lights up. She jogs over and sits next to me. Everybody greets with a 'hey' or 'how's life?' Reno takes a good look at her smiles.

"So, you're Cloud's girl?" He smirks.

Tifa glares at him. "Who gave you that idea? We only met yesterday!"

"Well, Cloud's been talking…" Reno smiles to himself, pleased with himself.

Tifa lets out an annoyed sighed and sat against the giant oak. "Is he always like that?"

"That's Reno for you, that is why just about every sophomore girl has a crush on him," I explain.

"Well, I'm the first that doesn't like him," Tifa muttered under her breath.

At that moment, a group of girls gasp as they walk by us. "You DON'T like Reno?!" They exclaim.

"Yeah…why? Is he god of some sort of religion?" Tifa raises an eyebrow.

"He's only the hunkest hunk that ever lived!" One exclaimed.

"Shun the nonbeliever!!" Another screamed as they ran away to gossip to their friends.

Tifa stared at Reno has if he'd grown a second head and the second head ate his first head. "Really…girls are that enchanted by your presence?"

"You HAVEN'T met his cousin," Rude commented.

Yuffie yawns. "Can we talk about something other than Reno's fangirls?"

"Yuffie's right," Zack agrees. "How life everyone?" He asked us.

"Life is good," Leon replied. "Without it you're dead,"

Rude actually cracked a smile. "You're right on that one,"

The conversation ends there. We didn't talk about much after that, just life. Life is short so live it. Idiot's version: don't go emo. After lunch, I drag myself to language and wait for the clock's lazy hands to move to two fifteen. After school, I head to the gym for fencing practice once again. On my way there, Tifa flags me down in the hall. Her cheeks are slightly red and she's looking at the floor.

"Cloud…I was wondering…" She started. "If we could…hang out after fencing practice?"

I smile at her. "Sure, meet me at my house,"

Tifa turns ever redder. "Okay, I'll see you then!" She bolts away from me, her beautiful dark hair flowing behind her.

I smile to myself, my first date. My parents have always picked on me for having a girlfriend ever since I told them about the actress I had a crush on in fourth grade. Sephiroth is waiting there, as usual, with Genisis and Angeal beside him.

Genisis is kind of strange on my opinion. He's always quoting this unfinished play called 'Loveless' or something along those lines. Don't really know much else about him. Angeal is another one of Sephiroth's best friends. I barely know anything about him so I can't say much.

"Hey Zack, Cloud," Sephiroth greets flatly.

"Why are you blushing?" Genisis puts his book down.

I didn't realize I was blushing until Genisis pointed it out. That makes my face burn even more.

"Well?" Angeal wonders.

"Nothing, nothing at all," I reply quickly.

Sephiroth nods to us as Reno and Rude walk in. Fencing practice goes very well, meaning I didn't get my butt kicked. But the whole time I could take my mind of what Tifa said. I couldn't wait until after practice.

**Author's Note: The jokes about Rude actually came from my sister. And the 'life's great without it you're dead' came from my twin brother. I don't own either one of those lines.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I ran through the town's crowed streets, with probably the stupidest grin on my face. I couldn't take my mind off Tifa all through fencing practice, which resulted in me getting jabbed at by Reno. I didn't really care about that. I ran town Edge Avenue as my heart leaped with joy. I ran inside and threw off my shoes in the mudroom. I lugged my backpack upstairs and walked into my room. I leaned my two-ton backpack against my bed as the doorbell rang. I smile to myself as I ran back down the stairs.

"Hey Tifa," I greeted as opened the door and saw my dark-haired angel on the doorway.

"Hey Cloud," Tifa greeted back as she walked in. "You look like you're in a good mood," She noticed as took off her shoes.

I could feel my face burn. I quickly turned away before she had the chance to notice. I lead Tifa to my living room, which already has a movie set up complete with popcorn and fuzzy blankets. Tifa laughs to herself as she crashes on the couch.

"You must have been planning this for ages!" She laughs. "What movie?"

"The Labyrinth," I reply and grab the DVD remote from the coffee table.

"No way! I love that movie!" Tifa exclaims. "Are you sure you're not psychic?" She jokes.

"Positive," I shut off the lights and close the blinds, making the room as dark as possible, trying to create a movie theater effect.

I click play as I crash next to Tifa, who is already huddled in a Nightmare Before Christmas blanket. I like to collect this kind of stuff because, I'm a geek. What else can I say? When the movie first began, we didn't say anything. I wanted to try to start a conversation, but I didn't know what to say. We munched on some popcorn, still as quiet-

"Oh my god! Demented Muppets!" Tifa cried pointing at the goblins.

"What?" I started before both of us began to laugh hysterically cracking up. I knew the goblins didn't really look like goblins in my opinion, but they looked like mutated Muppets. Thanks for clearing that up, Tifa.

The next few minutes continued silently. But than when we saw Jareth rise from his throne, Tifa got the BIGGEST grin on her face. Oh man, I had a bad feeling about this.

"You remind me of the babe," Tifa told me.

"What babe?" I smiled, playing along.

"Babe with the power,"

"What power?"

"The power of voodoo!"

"Who do?"

"You do!"

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe!" Tifa and I began laughing again.

As Jareth and the goblins burst into song, so did Tifa and I. We knew every word to the song, from watching this movie over and over. We even got up and started to dance! We were both off a little bit, but neither of us cared. We bumped into each other while trying to imitate the goblins' bad dancing. After the last "Dance magic dance" Tifa and I collapsed on the couch, painting from our burst of insanity.

"That (paint) was fun," Tifa's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"Yeah…" I agreed as I paused the movie. "You wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure, what do you have?" Tifa asked. "Wait, what can you actually cook?" She corrected.

I chuckled to myself. "Pasta, that's pretty much it," I replied as I searched through our cupboards.

After I made a bowl of spaghetti for the two of us, we sat at my kitchen table the room dimly lit by candles. Before you ask, the candles were all Tifa's idea; I swear I had nothing to do with it. My mind was in neverland and so was Tifa's. I'm going to tell my thoughts because that would bore you to no end. I mean, who wants to hear my thoughts of all people? Well I remember I was thinking of fencing strategies and before I knew it…

Our lips had connected.

It was totally unexpected. I stared into Tifa's lovely dark orbs and she stared back into my blue. My stomach was filled with butterflies that were, either drunk, or had a little too much sugar. Tifa pulled away, leaving the strand of spaghetti hanging out of my mouth. We sat there speechless. I was too shocked to even notice I had just kissed a girl.

**I do not own The Labyrinth. The Labyrinth belongs to it's repectful owner, who I can't remember the name of at the moment.**

**Author's Note: I know, this chapter was really short but I don't know what else to write. The next chapter may take a little while but it will be better! I'm kinda going through writer's block at the moment. But I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!**

**~yukihikari99**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The days blurred together after the kiss with Tifa. The feeling of my first kiss was stuck in my head, and I couldn't get it out. I would wander through the halls, looking like a lovesick puppy. I would also walk home with the dumbest grin on my face. Tifa would also hang out at my house to do homework and we would talk excitedly and laugh after our long day. My life then took an even more exciting turn a week after out first kiss.

"Hey Cloud," Zack greeted as he approached my locker, a pink flyer in his hand. There was a pale pink glow in his cheeks, meaning something must've happened with him and Aerith.

"The Valentine' Day dance is coming up. I was thinking if maybe you, me, Aerith, and Tifa could go together," Zack told me, his face turning redder by the second.

I smirked. "So you ARE asking out Aerith?" I said as I cracked open my locker.

"I've already asked her out," Zack replied. "She's going with me to the dance!" He exclaimed.

I high-fived him before I yanked my backpack out of my locker. Zack jabbered on about how excited he was, it got pretty boring but I can't blame him. I hardly paid an attention until one sentence caught my ear.

"Are you going to ask out Tifa?" Zack wondered.

I felt my face go red. Me…go out with Tifa? I could never work up to guts to ask her out. I gulped, as I blushed even harder.

"…Maybe," I replied quickly.

"Ah! So you do like her?" Zack teased.

"No! I don't-we're not-" I stopped when I saw a piece of paper taped to the inside of my locker. My locker is the one that anyone can break into. Because it's so easy to get into, jerks (like Kadaj and his gang) were always shoving notes in there. I ripped it off the door as Zack leaned over my shoulder. I un-folded it and is messy handwriting read:

_Meet me at the old corner store tonight at 9:00 PM sharp. Don't bring anything else or anyone._

I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. I hear Zack mumble something under his breath, but I couldn't make it out. I shut my locker and threw my backpack over my shoulder as I continued to make sense of this strange note. Oddly suspicious, wouldn't you agree?

"Are you going to listen to the cryptic note or what?" Zack broke my chain of thoughts.

"As much as I don't want to, I'm curious," I replied.

Zack shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever, dude. Don't say I didn't warn you," He told my flatly before he hurried off.

* * *

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing homework. I decided to call Tifa, but her cell phone wasn't on. She was probably at another student planning committee meeting. Tifa had joined the planning committee along with Elena the day after our kiss. They've been having meetings like mad because of the dance, meaning we had less time to hang out. I breathed in the silent air of my house, feeling so empty and dull without Tifa's warming presence.

I made myself a quick dinner a while later, grabbed my black sweatshirt and headed out. The old corner stone went out of business years ago and no one's bothered to rent it out or anything. From what I heard, the inside was rotting and there were cobwebs everywhere. The perfect haunted house on Halloween, err…haunted store.

I stepped inside the empty store and the rusty bell jingled. As soon as I stepped inside, the bell fell off its hook and hit the floor with a loud _CLANK! _That's one way to let the cashier know you're here. I peered into the darkness, hoping to see whoever wrote that mysterious note, but on one was here except me. I walked to the back, hoping to see someone, but no one again. I groaned in annoyance, it was probably a joke laid out by some crazy seniors.

I turn towards the door but a voice stops me. A cold voice wanting revenge.

"Wonderful you came…rain,"

I turn around quickly and Kadaj stood in the darkness, grinning his ugly grin. I turned to leave again, but Yazoo stood firmly in front of the doorway with Loz standing beside him, a metal baseball bat in his hand. The whole bat is covered in dried mud from the time I kicked it out of his hands.

"So you jerks left that note in my locker," I muttered, totally angry with myself.

"Yes, you see rain," Kadaj started. "Its because you our names were rubbed in the mud! You humiliated us in front of that b*tch Tifa. Because of her, we're now called the wimps of the school. It's because of you, rain!" Kadaj spat.

"Me? I didn't do anything! It was you who decided to mess with her!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the old store.

"Shut up!" Loz yelled. "They'll see who's the wimp when you go to school with some new war wounds!" Loz screamed, swinging his bat at me.

I ducked quickly, barley avoiding it, but Loz tried to swing it at me again. I jumped back and landed a weak roundhouse kick on his side. Loz growled in pain and swung his bat at me again. I ducked once more as Loz swung it at me once again. I jumped up, avoiding it, but Yazoo jumped up behind me and kicked me to the ground. I rolled over, avoiding Loz's steel sword. I climbed to my feet and punched Loz in the arm, but that didn't do anything.

Yazoo tried to land a karate kick on me, but I blocked it and countered with a punch to the chest. I heard the breath rush out of him and a smirk crossed my face. Yazoo fell on his butt but Loz swung his bat at me, landing a clean hit on my back. I fell over, coughing violently. Yazoo kicked me over, knocking the breath out of me. I gasped for breath as Loz put a put a foot on my back as if he was a hunter claiming his prize.

Determined not to be defeated, I slapped Loz's foot off and jumped to my feet. I ran forward and tried to kick Yazoo, but Yazoo grabbed my foot and jumped up. I didn't have time to react before he karate-chopped my shoulder. Pain vibrated through my shoulder as Loz swung the bat at my chest. I coughed violently into my hand. I look at my palm, and there was blood in it! The sight of blood made me cringe in fear. Could they actually do this much damage to me?

"Rain, feeling weak?" Kadaj smirked at my weakness.

"Loz and Yazoo do all your fighting! You just sit on your lazy a** all day!" I screamed as I caught my breath.

The smirk of Kadaj's face melted away and was replaced by anger. He snatched the metal bat out of Loz's hand and narrowed his eyes at me. I clenched my fists and struck a fighting stance.

"I'll show you lazy, rain!" Kadaj screamed as he swung the bat at me.

I didn't have time to react before the cold metal struck me in the shoulder. I grit my teeth to stop my cry of pain. I tried to kick Kadaj, but he knocked my leg away with his bat. I jumped back and landed a roundhouse kick on his leg. Kadaj groaned in pain and swung his bat at my skull. I gasped in fright before I ducked. I heard a loud _CLANK!_ above my head as if it had struck another bat.

Shaking I looked up and saw Zack, standing above me with another metal bat in his hand.

"Zack? When did you get here?" I wondered as I stood up.

"Do you really think I would let you go here alone?" Zack replied, sounding like a mom that was worried sick about her son. "I followed you here and I find you bruised and surrounded by these jerk wads,"

Kadaj growled under his breath as he swung his bat at Zack, but Zack blocked it with his bat. Kadaj jumped back as Zack swung his bat at Kadaj, but he blocked it easily. Kadaj ducked low and attempted a leg sweep, but Zack jumped up and slammed his bat into Kadaj's shoulder. Kadaj let out a small scream of pain, much to the surprise of Loz and Yazoo. Zack smirked and he tried to jab at Kadaj's chest, but Kadaj swung his bat at Zack. Kadaj's bat hit Zack's with so much force, it knocked it out of Zack's hands and it flew across the room and into a wooden support beam.

The five of us stood there in silence as an ear-splitting crack echoed through the empty store. The crack climbed up the old beam and spread across the ceiling, making ceiling tile fall to the floor. I gasped in shock and fear as I realized what was happening. The building was collapsing!

By the time my slow brain had processed this, Kadaj and his group had already fled the scene. Zack grabbed my hand darted towards the exit, leaving his bat behind. More and more chunks of the ceiling fell around us as we ran. The world seemed to slow down, but everything was still happening so fast. Zack pulled me along, painting heavily but still running for his life to the exit.

I didn't know what happened next. Something heavy fell on me, and I lost my grip on Zack's hand. I saw Zack run outside, unaware of what was happening. He turned around, his blue eyes filled with fear. He screamed out something but I couldn't make it out. Everything turned black and cold as I fell to the ground.

**Normal POV**

"Cloud!" Zack screamed the old store collapsed, sending up a cloud of dust.

Zack wiped the dust away from his eyes, and darted towards the pile of rotted wood, metal, and wires. He frantically dug through the debris, hoping to find his friend. Zack cut his hand on a piece of wood, but he didn't care he just wanted to find Cloud, alive. He tossed away another piece of wood, as tears began to well up in his eyes. He could never dig through his whole pile by himself and still find Cloud alive. Zack cursed himself for not bringing his cell phone. He turned towards the ruins of the old corner store as tears began to pour down his face.

"Hang in there, Cloud!" Zack called before he took off running down Edge Avenue.

Meanwhile, Tifa, Aerith, and Elena were at Tifa's painting banners for the dance coming up. It was only a week away, but the committee needed to have everything ready at least three days before the dance. The girls chattered and laughed, unaware of the commotion that was happening.

"Aerith, are you going to the dance with anyone?" Elena wondered.

"Zack asked me earlier today," Aerith answered with a huge smile on her face.

"What did you say?" Tifa asked eagerly.

"Of course I said yes! Are you going to ask out Cloud?" Aerith replied, raising an eyebrow at Tifa.

Tifa felt her face grow red. "Well I just met him…but…"

Yuffie smirked. "So you DO like him!" She exclaimed, sounding like an overly excited child.

"No! It's not like that!" Tifa insisted. "We're just…friends,"

"That's what they all say," Elena smiled to herself as someone pounded on the door.

Tifa groaned in annoyance, who would think of visiting this late? She reluctantly opened the door to a very breathless and frantic Zack.

"Call…911…Kadaj…old corner store…falling…Cloud…" Zack painted.

"What? Zack what are you doing here?" Elena wondered an eyebrow raised in confusion.

Aerith handed her boy a bottle of water and Zack drank half of it eagerly. He took in a deep breath and blurted out everything.

"Call 911! Kadaj and his group led Cloud to the old corner store and it collapsed! Cloud is still buried under the wreckage, and I don't know if he's alive!" Zack explained quickly.

Tifa gasped in shock. Cloud buried under the old corner store. She had only been in town foe a two weeks and she knew the town vaguely. She knew the corner store was old, but she didn't know it was in such bad condition. It didn't matter Cloud was buried under the wreck, still alive possibly.

"Aerith! Call 911 and tell them to go to the corner store!" Tifa yelled, taking control of her emotions. "Elena! Call Reno, Rude, Leon, and Yuffie to help us dig! We need all the help we can get!" She ordered before she and Zack rushed out the door again.

Tifa ran down the street as memories of her and Cloud running through her mind. True, she had only known him for a little bit, but he was her best friend. Cloud had saved her from Kadaj's gang and he welcomed her with open arms. Tifa felt guilty that she didn't spend more time with him. If she knew this was going to happen, she would've tried to make the most of it with Cloud.

"Hold on, Cloud. Hold on for just a little longer…" Tifa prayed as they neared the corner store ruins.

**Author's Note: When I started typing this, I didn't know what I was going to do with it. But two Percy Jackson books later I decided what I was going to do! Think about the tittle the next few chapters. This chapter was the reason why I rated it T to be safe. Hope you enjoyed! **

**~yukihikari99**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cloud's POV

I wake up and I ache all over. I can't see anything except for blurred grey shapes. I groan as I try to sit up, but a wave of pain washed over my body. I lay flat again and everything becomes clear. Zack's bat smashed a support beam and he escaped, but I wasn't so lucky. I can feel something wet running down my forehead, shoulder, and leg. Something heavy has fallen on my chest, making it hurt to breathe. I'm stuck here, totally helpless.

I pray in my head that Zack is trying to get help. The air's getting thinner by the second and the heavy object on my chest is crushing me. I blink away the dust and force myself to breathe slowly. Just breathing hurts my chest and I can feel dried blood on my shoulder. I don't if it's just me but the world is getting dark. I force myself to stay awake.

"Zack! Help!" I yelled, hoping for someone to hear me.

"Anyone! Help me! I'm trapped under here!" I screamed.

My heart fills with joy when I hear a sweet voice call out my name frantically.

"Cloud? Cloud, where are you?" The voice yelled, followed by the bangs of wood hitting pavement.

Tifa? Yes, Tifa's here! I can hear her sweet voice along with a few other voices yelling my name. I can make out Zack's, Yuffie's, Leon's, and Reno's. I smile to myself; I'm going to be okay.

"Guys, help!" I called out once more.

Erie silence fills the night. They're still crying out my name and digging through the rubble. I doubt they heard me. I draw in a breath, making me wince in pain. I force myself to breathe even slower than before. Hold on, I pray to myself. Zack and the gang are outside trying to rescue you, I'll be fine.

My words don't reassure me at all. The oxygen is getting thinner and the world is getting darker. No, I can't die…not like this. I fight to stay awake, but my strength to draining from me. I'm so sleepy suddenly. I fight to keep my eyes open, determined to stay awake. I feel truly utterly weak. I can feel my blood staining the floor as it leaks out of my body. Hurry people, I don't think I can hang on for much longer. Please, I'm begging.

**Normal POV**

"Cloud!" Zack called out for the billionth time as he tossed away another hunk of wood.

Broken pieces of wood were everywhere. The paramedics had arrived but there was still no sigh of Cloud. Reno was having his doubts about Cloud. It's been at least an hour since the building had collapsed and they haven't even heard a sound. He was obviously dead, but no one wanted to believe it. Especially not Tifa.

Tifa dug through the wreckage like a dog digging for a bone. Her hands were cut and bleeding from handing the broken steel and wood. She still believed Cloud buried under the rubble…alive somehow. Tifa could feel tear welling up behind her eyelids, but she wiped them away with her arm. She needed to stay strong for Cloud.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she tossed another piece of wood away from the pile.

The wood scraped against her palm, making another small cut that began to bleed. Zack saw the crimson liquid flowing down Tifa's wrists and rushed over to her.

"Stop working so hard, Tifa!" Zack scolded. "Cloud is still alive, worrying about YOU. You should clean up your hands before they start to get infected.

One of the paramedics led her to the ambulance and cleaned her cuts with care. He took out a roll of bandages and carefully wrapped her hands up. The paramedic put a reassuring hand on her shoulder before he ran off and continued to look for Cloud. Tifa felt her hands throbbing, but she didn't care. Deep down inside her heart, she knew Cloud was dead.

Tifa hiccupped quietly before tears began flowing down her face. Rain began to pour, like the heavens itself were mourning over Cloud. Cloud was dead by now. If he did survive the building collapse, he would've died of suffocation by now. Tifa shed tears even harder when she remembered the few times they had hung out together. If only she knew this was going to happen! She would've made the most of it, but either way Cloud would've died.

Tifa almost lost hope when she saw something. A peach shape with streams of red liquid on it. Could it be? Tifa stood up and rushed to the ruined building. The rain was pouring in a downpour by now, but Tifa hardly noticed it. She began tossing away pieces of wood and metal frantically. The metal cut her hand even more; she barley noticed the pain either.

"Tifa, what are you doing?" Aerith exclaimed, seeing the blood on her hands.

"There's a hand! Cloud's still here!" Tifa replied, her voice filling with hope. "Cloud! Can you hear me?" She yelled.

Tifa almost cried out with joy when she heard a low moan. The hand wiggled its fingers towards rather heavy-looking piece of wood. Tifa tried to pull away the huge piece, but it was much to heavy for her to handle. Zack saw her distress and rushed to her side to rescue his friend. They tugged but it still wouldn't budge.

"On three!" Leon called as he grabbed the wooden piece. "One, two, three!"

The three tugged on the piece as another low moan was heard. A couple of the paramedics grabbed the piece too and tugged. The piece moved but didn't reveal what was under it. Fuelled by her determination, Tifa tugged at the piece, moving more off the pile. With one last burst of strength, she lugged the heavy piece off the pile. Tifa looked at what it had covered and her eyes filled with joy.

"Cloud!" She exclaimed happily when she saw the blonde teen.

Cloud turned toward Tifa, a faint smile on his bloody face. He was greedily gulping in air as he faced Tifa with dreamy eyes. Tifa removed a few more pieces of wood, revealing his badly cut and scratched body. Tifahugged Cloud, trying to keep him warm in the freezing rain. A few of the paramedics carefully lifted Cloud up and laid him on a stretcher. Seeing the paramedics rush her beloved friend to the hospital was the most painful thing she could watch. Not knowing weather Cloud was going to make it or not, was the worst feeling in the world.

**Author: Here you go! I know, its a short chapter but I've been SOOO busy these past few days! Again, I hope you like it, the next chapter won't be posted for a while. I'm going to be very busy throughout March and April, so I won't be posting as much. Hope you enjoy! I also updated Ansem's Revenge if you're interested. Hope you enjoyed!**

**~yukihikari99**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Normal POV**

"Man, what a night," Reno muttered, drying his wet hair with a towel.

Elena groaned. "When I said you could hang out at my house, that doesn't mean you can raid my towels without asking!"

"Hey, I'm sorry! I just couldn't find you at the time!" Reno told her.

Tifa hardly noticed Elena and Reno picking on each other. She was too immersed in her worried thoughts about Cloud. Tears still ran down her face in rapid streams of sadness. She hated how she couldn't go to the hospital with him, to make sure Cloud was okay. Leon and Zack had gone with the paramedics instead because they didn't want to Tifa to get even more worried. The thought made Tifa sob about the one boyfriend that loved her for who she was. Aerith and Yuffie sat beside the sobbing teen, trying to comfort her.

"It's gotta be okay," Yuffie said, trying to hopeful. "Cloud's strong and he won't die just like that. You should feel proud you saved him. Come on Tif, I hate it when people cry,"

"Yuffie's right," Aerith patted Tifa's shoulder. "He would've been dead by now if you hadn't found him.

"But what if he's lying in the hospital dead?" Tifa sobbed. "I could've found him sooner but I was too busy worrying about something that could've happened!"

"Stop being so pessimistic, d*mnit," Reno muttered, walking over to the couch. "The dude's gonna be okay, stop worrying,"

"You don't know what its like to be worried about some like this!" Tifa screamed as she grabbed Reno by the shirt collar. "If this were happening to one of your friends you'd be worried sick! You'd be like me, praying to god he's alright! You don't know what it's like!" She screamed.

"I do know what the feeling is like!" Reno yelled, pushing Tifa away from him. "Cloud's my friends too...we're not close but still. I'm worried to, I've been calling Leon every five minutes asking him for updates. The doctors just went into emergency surgry for a broken rib," He explained.

That set Tifa off. Tears fell down her face even faster and she hugged Aerith close. Aerith gently ran her fingers through Tifa's beautiful black hair trying to comfort her. Aerith barely knew Cloud, but from Zack, he sounded like one of the most caring and courageous people ever. Tifa sobbed quietly as she laid on the couch and fell asleep, still sobbing.

_Please Cloud, _Aerith prayed in her head. _Please pul through...for Tifa._

**Cloud-**

I don't know whether I died in the hospital or not. Tifa's beautiful face was the last thing I saw before I blacked out again. After that, I didn't know if I died.

I had some pretty strange dreams. The only dream I remember is Zack, the rest of the fencing team, Tifa and I being turned into kittens. Genesis kept trying to restrain himself from licking his paws; Angeal fell over his own feet at least thirty times, Sephiroth had a sudden craving for tuna, and Reno kept trying to bite Rude's ear. I tried to pad over to Tifa but then everything began to blur together. Tifa pounced towards me, but the whole world shattered and went black. That ended that strange dream, vision, or whatever you want to call it.

I didn't know where I was when I woke up, but everything hurt. I could feel something poking me _inside _my chest. I could hear some excited voices chattering above me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I groan as I try to make out my fuzzy surroundings, but my eyes won't focus. I can see blurred shapes above me, but I can't see their faces. One voice stands out from the rest, an angelic voice that makes my pain melt away.

"Cloud, are you alright?" It asks.

I moan as a familiar face hovers above mine. I blink a few times and my vision clears up a little bit. I can feel the figure's long hair brushing against my shoulders. I focus on the figure's and stare into their lovely dark eyes. I closed my eyes and shake my head. When I open them again, I see Tifa's beautiful face hovering over me.

"Are you okay?" She repeated.

I took me a couple seconds to realize where I was. I was lying in a bed with a clean pale blue blanket pulled over my body. An IV tube was attached to my arm and my shoulder was bandaged tightly. My left leg heavy and there was a gauze pad tapped to my head with medical tape. I was dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and black pants. Elena, Yuffie, Leon, Zack, and Tifa were gathered around my bedside. Zack's blue eyes grew wide with delight when he was my face and sat beside me.

"Hey Cloud, how are you feeling?" He wondered and he pulled out a card.

"Okay, what happened anyway?" I wondered, my head feeling fuzzy.

"The paramedics took you to the hospital after we found you. You were pretty bad: you broke your ankle and a rib, and you had a pretty bad cut on your shoulder and you grazed your forehead," Leon explained. "You've been fast asleep ever since,"

"How long as it been?" I wondered.

"Hmm… about six days," Yuffie replied.

"WHAT!" I exclaimed my broken rib poked me again. "It's been that long?"

"Time files when you're unconscious," Zack joked, handing me a card. "It's from the fencing team. We all signed it a couple days ago, when you were out," He said as I pulled the card out.

It wasn't anything special, just a pale yellow card with GET WELL SOON written in bubble letters on the front. Inside, Zack wrote a short poem about how much he was worried about me, followed by the whole fencing team's signatures. I smiled to myself as I carefully tucked the card back into the envelope.

"Thanks Zack. What's the date anyway?" I asked him.

"Wedsday February 12, why?" Elena replied.

Crap, Valentine's Day dance was in two days and I still haven't asked out Tifa. But, I can't exactly go in my condition or dance with a broken ankle. I sigh deeply as I slowly try to sit up, trying not to cause any more pain to myself. My head starts to spin, but Tifa takes my hand and help me sit up. I stare into her beautiful dark eyes, making the pain fade from my wounds for a moment. I should I ask her or not? My heart's pounding and my hands are sweating.

"T-Tifa?"

"Yeah, Cloud?"

I gulp. No, I can't, not yet at least. I draw in a shaky breath and shake my head.

"Nevermind," I muttered, feeling like I failed.

* * *

The next day, I felt like I was the most popular kid at school. My ankle was in a cast and I was walking with one crutch. I still had my shoulder bandaged and the gauze pad was still taped to my forehead. Zack never left my side the whole time yelling out stuff like, "Hey! Back away from the injured kid!" or "Injured Cloud coming through!" He was also nice enough to help me carry my books for me. During lunch, Reno even pulled out a Sharpie, signed his name on my cast, and doodled a sword on it as well.

"Might as well make it look cool," Reno grinned at me.

Zack snatched the marker from Reno and scribbled his name on my cast. He even doodled an overly puffy cloud next to his name. Are you serious, Zack?

"What?" Zack laughed. "Doesn't it match?"

"Hahaha, very funny," I replied, cracking a slight smile.

"Lemme sign!" Yuffie yelled out excitedly, grabbing the Sharpie from Zack.

Yuffie quickly scribbled her name beside Zack's, followed by Aerith and Leon. I rolled my eyes and just laughed. Yeah Reno, thanks for starting this. As if reading my thoughts, Reno winked at me as Leon handed him his sharpie back.

I spend the rest of the day lost in my thoughts. I wouldn't be here if Tifa hadn't saved me. She was the angel I described her as, my guardian angel. My own thoughts made me smile to myself. The dance is two days from now, ah crap. My ankle can't heal in that time so there goes asking her to slow dance with me. I gulp as I feel my hands begin to sweat. No way, I was missing out on the dance. Not when Tifa just saved me, of course, this isn't saving her life…but I'm not in the proper condition to save a life right now.

The final bell rang as I gathered up my junk and left the room. I shoved some junk in my backpack and went outside to the schoolyard to find Tifa. I easily find her-she was chattering with Yuffie, Aerith, and Elena about what they're wearing to the dance. My stomach's tied in knots as I near her.

"Hey Tifa, there's your man," Aerith teases.

Tifa's cheeks turn slightly pink. "Hi Cloud," She greets.

I gulp and summon up my courage. "Can I…talk to you?" I ask motioning her to follow me.

Tifa follows me to another large tree, away from the crazy weridos trying to get home. By that I don't mean Tifa's friends, I mean the morons pouring out of the school. Tifa leans against the tree as I draw in a shaking breath. For a second I think of forgetting it, but there's now way I can back out now. I close my eyes, take another deep breath, and face Tifa.

"Tifa…will you go to the Valentine's Day dance with me?" I ask her.

**Author: New chapter is due to all of the reviews and favs I've gotten over the past week or so. You guys have motivated me so much, and I thank you all for it! I want to especially thank my friends, family and teachers for supporting me and my writing! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

~yukihikari99


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter is for Tifa4Buhay and KogameYutari, for motivating me and encouraging with to continue this. You guys are so much fun to talk too, and you give some pretty good advice and motivation!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 7

Cloud-

I sit on my bed, fidgeting with my tie. My stomach's tied in knots and the knots are getting tighter every five minutes. I run my fingers through my blonde spikes. I hear the door open as Zack walks in, looking ready for the dance. He's dressed in a white button-down shirt under a black jacket and pants with a white tie with red hearts decorating it.

"You ready Cloud? The girls are going to be here any minute," He told me as he sat next to me.

I flash him a weary smile. "I'm kind nervous," I admitted.

"What are you nervous about? You and Tifa are going to have so much fun!" Zack patted my good shoulder.

"I really don't know. What if she doesn't have fun?" I asked, sounding overly paranoid.

Zack slapped me on the back. "Cloud, you're being ridiculous! You and Tifa are gonna have a BLAST! Now get your vest on, they're gonna be here really soon," He smiled at me before he stood up and walked downstairs.

I smile at Zack as he winks at me and walks downstairs. I pull my black vest over my collared white shirt. I feel a little strange dressed up. I've never attended any of the school dances before, so I really didn't know what to wear. In the end, I threw on a white collared t-shirt, black pants, and a red tie for Valentine's Day. I take another look at myself in the mirror before I walk downstairs after Zack.

My ankle's feeling a little better. I wobble slightly when I walk and my run is more of a limp. I throw on some black sneakers as the doorbell rings. Zack eagerly run to get it, like Yuffie when she sees a small, cute puppy. Zack's eyes light up light Christmas lights when he sees Aerith in her beautiful dress.

Aerith does look stunning in her pink gown. She's wearing a sleeveless pink gown with white designs edging the bottom. A red shrug covers her shoulder and her hair is free of her usual ponytail. Her brown hair falls past her shoulders, small curls tickling at her shoulders, and a pink heart necklace hangs from her neck.

Tifa takes my breath away. She's wearing a black knee-length dress with a red sash tied around her waist and black flowers decorating the white fabric of her white skirt and black ballet flats. Her beautiful dark was curled at the tips and a black choker with a red heart wrapped around her neck (Author: Tifa's dress is actually a real dress I own). The only two words that described her were absolutely stunning.

"So, you guys ready?" Tifa asked flashing me a smile.

"Uhh…um…yeah," I stammered, just looking at her made my mind short-circuit.

Aerith grabbed Zack's hand and led him outside, followed by Tifa and I. A long black limo was waiting outside for us. The black window rolled down, revealing an, overly hyper Yuffie.

"Hey guys!" She chirped. "Are you excited? I know I am!" She babbled.

"I am," Zack smile at Aerith, making her face glow pale pink as we stepped in the limo.

Inside, Tseng and Elena were waiting. Elena was wearing a knee-length pale pink dress (holy sh*t, she's wearing pink?) with a layer of black lace over it, black ballet flats, and two silver earrings shaped like hearts. Tseng was in just a normal suit with a tie that was red and faded into black, as it got closer to the bottom. (Author: Elena's dress is again based off of a real dress I have, that doesn't fit me anymore sadly).

Yuffie wasn't as dressed up as all of us: she wore a black tank top with white flowers on it under a silver unzipped vest, a pair of acid-washed jeans, and a pair of black converse. Now that I've bored you again, let's move on.

"You feeling okay, Cloud?" Tseng asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about me," I replied. "Who are you going to the dance with Yuffie?" I asked, as far as I knew, everyone in school thought she was an overly hyper chipmunk.

Yuffie's face turned red. "Well, there's this guy…who thought I was nice and we started talking…" She fidgeted with her tank top straps. "DoyouguysknowVincentValentine?" She blurted, her face as red as a tomato.

"What the censored did you just say?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"Vincent Valentine? Oh, he's your date!" Aerith exclaimed.

Yuffie cringed. "Is that a bad thing?" She asked in a little girl voice.

"I think it's kinda cute, in a strange way. Vincent is always so dark and mysterious, you could bring out some joy in him," I intersected.

"Let's hope he doesn't turn into a second Yuffie," Elena commented.

"Agh! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!" Zack shook his head, trying to get the "bad thoughts" out of his head as Aerith giggled.

"Cloud, you look…uneasy. Are you okay?" Tifa's beautiful orbs stared into mine.

"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous," I admitted.

"It's just a dance, have fun," Tifa laughed as the limo pulled up the school.

We all poured out, to find Vincent waiting for Yuffie. He wore his usual red headband that matched his red T-shirt that hid under a black vest. He also wore his normal black jeans, ripped at the knee, and black converse. I guess the word 'formal' isn't in his dictionary.

"Vincent!" Yuffie squealed running into his arms, Vincent hugged her back.

"Hi Yuffie," He greeted, actually looking happy around her. "You look nice," He complemented.

"It's really not that formal, but thanks!" Yuffie smiled, looking a little on the short side as Vincent towered above her.

Tifa grabbed my hand and led me into the gym. The gym was so decorated; you would probably confuse it to be a low-key ballroom. A giant VALENTINE'S DANCE banner hung from the ceiling above the door, cutouts of hearts and cupid were all over the wall, and a disco ball hung in the middle of the room, splashing dots of color all around the room. The girls were in herds, dancing all together while all the other girls were huddled around someone.

Curious, I walked over to where everyone was standing and cheering and weaved my way through the crowd. I picked out Rude wearing a white shirt under a black jacket along with black pants and shoes.

"What's going on?" I wondered.

"Reno decided to start break dancing in front of everyone. Now there's gonna be a mob of girls stalking him the entire night," He replied.

I glanced in the middle and, sure enough, Reno was spinning on the floor as his fangirls cheered him on and squealed. I backed out of the crowd as "Music Again" by Adam Lambert began playing. I SWEAR I heard a couple squeal of joy that almost murdered my eardrums. Stupid fangirls.

"Hey Cloud!" Leon called high-fiving me.

'Formal' didn't exist in Leon's dictionary as well. Or maybe he chose not to wear a suit to spare the humiliation. He wore a black Guns N' Roses t-shirt and ripped jeans, the same thing he wore at school.

"Hey Leon, do you have a date or are you still single?"

"He's with me," A girl wrapped her arms around Leon's neck, making him smile.

I've seen her a few times around school, but I never got a good look at her. She has long black hair with a few tiny streaks of caramel brown mixed in and pretty dark brown eyes. Unlike wearing red or pink, like every other girl here, she wore a light blue sleeveless tunic, black leggings, and blue ballet flats. A black choker wrapped around her neck and a silver bracelet hung from her wrist.

"Cloud, this is my old friend Rinoa. Rinoa, this is Cloud," Leon introduced.

"I know, you're the boy that was in the hospital for four days," Rinoa smiled as she stood next to Leon. "Both of us helped set this up after school,"

"You did a good job," I said as I saw Tifa chattering with her friends. "I've gotta request a song…" I headed for the DJ, a song swirling in my mind.

After talking with Aerith for a couple minutes, I got her to tell me Tifa's current favorite song: Here in Your Arms by Hellogoodbye. After briefly speaking with the DJ as wondered back to where Tifa was talking as "I Gotta Felling" by The Black-eyed Peas began to close. My stomach was filled with the drunk butterflies again as I approached her.

"You enjoying the dance?" Tifa asked.

"It's pretty good, in fact Leon has a date," I mentioned.

"Rinoa? She's in my Spanish class. Aerith told me she and Leon have been best friends since sixth grade," Tifa cocked her ear to the music and a huge smile spread across her face.

"This next song was a special request by Cloud Strife and he dedicates this song to Tifa Lockhart, rock on you two," The DJ announced as everyone cheered and clapped.

I felt my face burn for a split second. My heart began to leap with joy when the BIGGEST smile crossed her face. Let me tell you, when you see Tifa smile like that, it's nearly impossible to smile back.

"Cloud…how'd you?" She gasped.

"I have my resourses," I told her.

The drunken butterflies went wild as Tifa's threw her arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. I ran my fingers through her hair the disco balled flashed pale splotches of light everywhere. Tifa loosed her grip on my neck as I held her waist. Tifa and I swayed back and fourth to the music.

_I like where we are,_  
_When we drive, in your car_  
_I like where we are.... here_

_Cause our lips, can touch_  
_And our cheeks, can brush_  
_Our lips can touch…here_

_Well, you are the one, the who only lies close to me_  
_Whispers hello, I miss you quite terribly_  
_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly_

_There's no place else I could be but here in your arms_

_I like where you sleep,_  
_When you sleep, next to me._  
_I like where you sleep... here_

_Our lips, can touch_  
_And our cheeks, can brush_  
_Our lips can touch…here_

_Well, you are the one, the one who only lies close to me_  
_Whispers hello, I miss you quite terribly_  
_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly  
__There's no place else I could be but here in your arms_

Zack winked at me as he held Aerith close. I smile to myself as Aerith planted a small kiss on his cheek. I liked seeing him and Aerith together, they looked so happy together. I turned my attention back to Tifa as she nuzzled against my collarbone. I held her closer, feeling her soft cheeks brushing against mine.

_Our lips can touch  
__Our lips can touch…here_

I didn't know what happened before that. All I knew is that now, Tifa's lips were against mine. I blocked out the rest of the world and hugged her. The music still played softly in the background, making the moment seem even more like heaven. I stared into Tifa's beautiful dark eyes as her's met my sky-blue orbs. Tifa pulled away and hugged me tight, making my chest throb, but I didn't care.

"I love you, Cloud," She whispered as she rested her head against my shoulder.

I gently kissed on the forehead, making her face turn slightly pink, they way mine used to whenever she'd smile. The began to fade out as I drew in my breath and whispered in her ear:

"I love you too, Tifa,"

I saved Tifa from the school jerks, and she saved my life. I was forever her protector and warroir (well, in-training at least), and she was my angel…my guardian angel.

_You are the one the one who only lies close to me_  
_Whispers hello, I miss you quite terribly_  
_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly_  
_There's no place else I could be but here in your arms_

_You are the one the one who only lies close to me_  
_Whispers hello I miss you, I miss you_  
_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly_  
_There's no place else I could be but here in your arms_

_Here in your arms_  
_Here in your arms…_

**Author: Phew! Finally finished typing! I personally think this is the best romance story I've written in a while. I want to say thanks to all who reviewed and faved, you guys rock! I also want to thank my music teacher for giving me the motivation and criticism I needed! I hope you liked reading this as much I liked typing it! There will also be some cute Cloti stories in "When We Were Young" as well so check them out once I get them posted! Hope you enjoyed reading this! Cloti FTW!**

**~yukihikari99**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the FFVII or FFVIII characters or the song. They belong to Sqaure Enix and Hellogoodbye.**


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE

_**Author's Note:**_

**Hi everyone! I'm glad that I have so many favs and reviews for this story! Much to Tifa4buhay's request, I have decided to make a sequel! I have most of the plot planned out, but I have a couple of questions for YOU, the readers, to answer: **

**1. Is there anything that was missing in Guardian Angel (other than Rufus) that you want to see in Guardian Angel II?**

**2. What other Final Fantasy Characters do you want to see in Guardian Angel II? I've already added in a couple more FFVII characters, like Rufus and Cissnei, also I have also added a couple from FFX and FFXIII, any others you want to see? **

**Please reply to these questions in either a review or send me a PM. ****Thanks so much for reading and reviewing this story! If you guys give me enough ideas, I'll post it POSSIBLY when summer begins as a nice welcome summer present. Thanks for taking the time to read this!**

**~yukihikari99**

**PS I just realised i made a mistake. Leon is Squall from FFVIII. I accidently called him that because in Kingdom Hearts his name was Squall, and I had ogtten so used to calling him that I accidently called him Leon. Sorry for my dumb mistake, just pretend Leon is Squall.**


	9. AUTHOR'S NOTE part 2

**Sequel to Guardian Angel is posted! Look up Guardian Angel II, Thank you for your wonderful ideas! Enjoy the sequel!**

~yukihikari99


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